Under Pressure
by DevRiot
Summary: Tony and Bruce have been in a relationship for a few months, and things are going great. But it soon becomes clear that Tony has other things on his mind.. Very angsty, some upsetting words. Rated T for language and mentions of sexual themes. NOT A SMUT. Bruce/Tony. Read and review!
1. Arguments

**A/N: This was a basic idea I had one night and decided to make it into a quick story! Enjoy.**

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"Hey, you." Tony smiled, sneaking up behind Bruce in the lab and wrapping his arms around his waist. They had been in an official relationship for just over six months, and Tony loved every minute of it.

"Hi." Bruce smiled when he heard Tony's voice, the familiar, uncontrollable shiver that went down his spine every time the man touched him. He turned around to face him and put his arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this not my house? My lab?" He grinned, putting his forehead to Bruce's, letting their dark eyes meet.

"Our house, our lab." Bruce corrected him, nuzzling at his cheek and leaving a soft kiss.

"Well... It's called Stark Tower, not Banner Tower, so y'know. Everything in here is mine. Including you." He growled playfully, moving his face to Bruce's neck and kissing it delicately.

"Is that so?" He mumbled, his concentration lost as Tony kissed him. Tony just hummed in agreement before kissing his way back up to Bruce's mouth.

"Yes. You're mine." He growled again, before locking his lips on his lover's and kissing him forcefully, nipping at his bottom lip before letting his tongue dance in the Doctor's mouth. It lasted for a few minutes before Bruce finally broke away.

"Not so fast, Tony." He grumbled, giving him a gentle smile and stroking his shoulders before letting go of him and turning back to his computer screen. Tony narrowed his eyes and walked around the opposite side of the workbench to look at Bruce.

"What's wrong? It's only kissing." He asked lightly. Bruce had told him he wanted to take things slow at the beginning of their relationship, and Tony had agreed all too kindly. They had refrained from anything sexual for the whole six months, and although Tony knew Bruce would be worth the wait, the playboy was beginning to wonder how much longer he could actually keep up the celibacy thing.

"I know that, Tony, but I don't want things to get too heated. If my heart rate raised just a few beats too high, you won't have much of a Stark Tower/Banner Tower left." He gave him a meek smile.

"Well... Yeah, I get that but, it's kissing, Bruce. It's not gonna kill you." He frowned.

"It would appear that nothing can kill me, Tony, but I don't want to risk your life." Bruce swallowed slowly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, if I had to pick a way to die, I think in the throes of passion would be a pretty good way to go." He smirked.

"Tony, don't even joke about that. It's not funny." His eyebrows knitted together as he looked at the genius.

"Bruce, what's wrong? Seriously? You're really... cranky."

"Nothing's wrong, I just... I know you want to go further than we've been at the minute and I need more time." He shrugged.

"Look, you said you weren't ready, and that's fine. I respect that. It's worth the wait. But just... I don't actually know what you're waiting for." He said bluntly. Bruce looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Bruce, this isn't gonna go away. If and when we get to that stage, the Other Guy is gonna be there. It's not like you can wait until we've found a cure before we go any further because we've been searching for ages. It's time to face facts that he's always gonna be around, and there's no way to prevent that." Tony spoke firmly.

"Yeah, I get that, but I at least want to be able to control him a little more before we try anything too serious. I just... He's not ready for this yet. I'm not ready." Tony was losing patience and fast.

"Oh will you cut it out? Stop acting like you're a virgin, and this is your first time, and I'm pressuring you into it. This is something you've done before, many a time. You just have another person involved. You never know, the guy might need a little loving."

"Tony? How can you even say that? You know why this isn't a good idea. I'm not pretending to be a rape victim who's struggling to trust again. I just... I need more time, why can't you accept that?" He shouted.

"I do accept that. I just think it's time you accepted that there is no way out of this. I'll wait for you Bruce, as long as it takes, and you know that. But you're waiting until the Other Guy is gone, and he's never going to go. I trust you, and I know you can handle this. But you don't trust yourself and that's what's causing the problem." He shouted back.

"Tony, the only problem here is you being selfish! You're thinking about yourself and what you need! You will literally do anything to get your leg over, won't you?" He growled. "If you've got pent up sexual frustration, then that's great, you've got two perfectly good hands to sort yourself out with. But I need more time, and if you're not willing to wait, then I know where the door is."

"How can you even say that? You're willing to leave me over this? Just because I want to make love to you? You want to walk out because I'm trying to persuade you to trust yourself?"

"This is your way of persuading me, is it? Telling me how I'm being stupid for letting this control my life?" Bruce snorted.

"When did I ever say those words? Hm? When, at any point in this conversation, did I tell you that you were stupid? You're the smartest person I know Bruce, but you're ruining yourself. I love you, and you know that. I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone or anything. But we're adults. We can't keep going on dates to the movies and holding hands like stupid teenagers. I want to express my love for you in a different way, and I don't see why you're so against it." Tony shrugged at him.

"I've just explained why I'm so against it! If I get even a little bit over-excited, I'll turn into you-know-what and put the entire city in danger. It's not worth it! I'd rather go on a thousand pathetic little dates with you and just hold your hand because believe it or not Tony, that means something to me. It's not about sex with you, it's about love. But I suppose I should have known it wouldn't be long before your 'playboy' side came out." Bruce spat.

"Are you kidding me? Don't patronise me, Banner. I haven't slept with anyone since I got the arc reactor. I don't trust anyone to see me naked when they could potentially rip my heart out of my chest. Do you realise how long it took me to trust again? You're the first person I've even got close to since that. So don't tell me that I'm some filthy whore who relies on sex, because I haven't had any in years."

"Tony... I want to have sex with you. Of course I do. I just need more time. I don't know how often I have to keep repeating myself. At this point in time, doing anything remotely sexual would end up in a smashed up New York, and I really don't think they'd appreciate that. This is why I stay away from big cities in the first place."

"Well it's obvious you don't wanna be in the big city anymore Bruce. Go on, you know where the door is. I'm sure there are some children in Malaysia who need your help." He spat, but the anger fell from his face and was replaced by sadness, regretting the words as soon as he said them. Bruce's face was pained, and it broke the billionaire's heart. Tears pricked at Bruce's eyes, but he shook them away.

"Fine. I'll get out of your hair." He said softly, turning away with a sniff and walking out of the door.

"Bruce... I didn't mean it. Bruce wait!" Tony called after him, but it was too late. He'd already gone. He turned from the door and slumped in his chair, head in hands, fumbling blindly in a cabinet beside him before pulling out a bottle of whiskey he had stashed away. He'd ruined everything, screwed it up through his own selfishness, just like always. "JARVIS, lock the lab door." He grumbled.

"_Sir, I do not think drinking is the answer to your prob-"_

"JARVIS! Do as you're fucking told." He shouted, taking a swig of the whiskey. There was a pause in the air before the AI answered him glumly.

"_Of course, Mr Stark."_

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**A/N: I know, I know. Don't hate me. I'm sorry. Don't worry, this is a two-shot, so there will be another chapter coming to round things off. Please read and review! **


	2. Reconciliations

Tony awoke abruptly from a deep sleep, his head pounding. He grumbled and lifted his head from the desk, quickly realising he'd fallen asleep in the lab, the dregs of a whiskey bottle on the table beside him. He felt groggy, a headache burning through his head, his stomach turning gently, but not enough to cause him to throw up. He stood up slowly.

"JARVIS, what time is it?" He groaned, putting a hand to his head.

"_9am, sir. And you may wish to know that Dr Banner hasn't left yet." _ The AI responded. Tony's eyes widened and he let out a groan. He'd almost forgotten about their fight, but it all flooded back to him, all the cruel words he spat at Bruce. He had to fix this.

"Where is he?"

"_In his room, sir. He is packing. If you are hoping to reconcile I suggest you do it quickly."_

"Yeah well, thanks for that JARVIS." He grunted sarcastically, straightening himself up and grabbing a quick coffee from the machine before heading out of the lab, towards the bedroom. How could he have let himself be such an idiot? Why didn't he run after Bruce the night before, sort everything out then? Now he'd have to face something he'd dreaded every day for the last 6 months – Bruce packing with intent to leave. Tony had suspected the day would come, but he assumed it would be Bruce's self esteem that told him he couldn't stay, and he'd flee to some foreign country. But that wasn't the case. Tony had pushed Bruce away himself, and if he couldn't convince Bruce to stay, he would never forgive himself.

Within a few minutes, Tony had finished his coffee, and threw it into a bin as he reached the hallway with the bedrooms. He sighed to himself before opening the handle of the room and shuffling inside. "Hey." He spoke softly, walking in to see Bruce hunched over a half-filled suitcase that was resting on their bed.

"What do you want, Tony?" Bruce asked, no anger or coldness in his voice, just sadness and defeat.

"I don't want you to go, I know that much." He spoke firmly, walking around the bed to face Bruce. He saw that his eyes were red and swollen, from lack of sleep and crying. Tony felt the pang of guilt hit him again.

"It's too late, Tony. Pepper organised the jet last night. It'll be here in fifteen minutes." He sniffed. Tony looked at him again, his lip trembling.

"Bruce, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean any of what I said. You know I don't want you to go. Please don't leave me." He said frantically, the words spilling out of his mouth, tears forming in his eyes. Bruce looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head and looking away.

"Tony, I can't stay. Not after that. I... You were right. I'm dragging this out far longer than I need to... And I suppose it proves that my condition still won't let me trust anyone." He sighed, his voice quavering where the tears were coming again.

"Bruce, don't say that. I was wrong. It was all my fault, it always is. Don't blame yourself for this. You're a brilliant person, a perfect person. I don't deserve you." Tony mumbled, a single tear falling from his eye. "I just... I want you to stay. Please don't leave me. Please."

"Tony, I love you. But you have needs that I can't fulfil, and it's not fair to make you wait. I think it's better that we call this off before the temptation to be with other people comes along." He shrugged, his heart breaking as he watched Tony cry.

"No, no, Bruce, don't say that. I... I don't want to call this off. I want to be with you. I can wait, I promise. I've been lousy. I know I have. I always have been. But I want to make this work. Just give me a chance Bruce, I can-"

"Tony, I just-"

"No, hear me out. Just a few weeks. Like a trial. And if I'm still lousy, and terrible, you can leave. No questions asked. Just... don't give up on me. I never gave up on you." He pleaded, the tears falling rapidly now. Bruce had to say he was touched. He'd never seen Tony get so worked up about anything like this. Watching Tony cry was heartbreaking.

"I- I don't know, Tony. A lot can change in a matter of weeks. What if things get worse?" He sighed.

"Then you have every right to leave. If I'm still lousy then you can go, and I will have deserved it. Just... give me another shot. I'm useless without you, Bruce. I don't want to push you away. I need you. And I love you." Tony sniffled. "You... You don't have to make a decision right now." He grumbled, turning around towards the door. "We can talk about this later. Just promise me that if you do leave, you'll say goodbye."

"Of course I will." He said, giving Tony a meek smile before he left the room, leaving Bruce with the suitcase and his thoughts. He hated himself more than usual. He'd made Tony cry, and that made him hate himself even more. Why did he always let his demons drag him down? Tony had given him everything he could ever need or want, and he shoved that in his face because he pitied himself too much. Even if he had good reason to, he didn't want to push Tony away. _But what about the Other Guy? _He asked himself. _Screw the other guy! I love Tony!_

Within a few moments, he found himself rushing out of the door after Tony.

"Wait!" He shouted, making the billionaire jump. Tony spun around in an instant, facing Bruce.

"Yes?" He murmured, a glint of hope in his eye.

"I'm not leaving. I can't. I can't leave you. Not like this. I love you too much Tony. You're the only person I've ever managed to trust and I'm not going to let us throw this away." Bruce spoke, moving closer to Tony a moving a piece of his hair out of his face.

"So you'll give the trial a shot?" He smiled.

"No. Screw the trial. We know what we're getting into. We're going straight back to relationship status." He grinned, putting an arm around Tony's waist and hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry. For everything." Tony murmured into Bruce's ear, a hand on the back of his head, soothingly massaging his curls.

"It's fine, Tony. We were both wrong. I'm sorry." Bruce smiled, tears falling from his eyes as he held Tony tight, pulling away from the hug to kiss him softly. Tony kissed him back, being careful to keep things very chaste and gentle, but before he knew what was happening, Bruce had kissed him forcefully, putting his tongue into Tony's mouth, making the billionaire's eyes widen.

"Whoa... what?" He laughed when he pulled away. "I thought this was what we were avoiding?"

"Rules were made to be broken Tony." Bruce smirked, before narrowing his eyes at him and biting his lip. "Now how do you feel about make-up sex?" Tony raised an eyebrow and flashed him a grin.

"I think we're gonna have to move that suitcase." He smiled, wrapping his arm around Bruce and walking with him back to the bedroom.

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**A/N: And that's it! See, everything worked out fine, stop complaining. I hope you all enjoyed this little two shot, please review, I love reviews, bad or good. Thanks for reading! **


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